And ten steps back again
by Psychen-tied
Summary: Once in a blue moon, they take a step forward but they usually take so many steps back that they look like they are moonwalking away from each other... Takes place while House is at Mayfield psychiatric hospital.
1. Oooops

**AND TEN STEPS BACK AGAIN...**

**Hey, guys, I was stunned when I checked some SPOILERS after watching the Fox previews... I can't say that I'm very pleased with that turn of events but hey, it shows I definitely don't own House (if I did he wouldn't have slept with anyone during his rehab at Mayfield...). Any hope of seeing House and Cuddy together crushed, I'm still waiting for season 6... We can't always get what we want indeed...**

**Anyhoo, enjoy...**

Chapter one – ooops...

House had been in Mayfield psychiatric Hospital for a month when Cuddy decided that it was time for her to visit him. Both Wilson and herself had decided against it, thinking it would be too hard for House. Now she couldn't take the distance anymore, not seeing him barge into her office or knocking on her door at all hours of the night, pulling unbelievable stunts, looking at her with those intelligent piercing blue eyes, challenging her, staring at her breasts and ass... She missed all that, even the banter, the arguing... Everything about him.

Decided to visit him, she called Wilson, asked him to babysit Rachel. He didn't even have to ask where she was going: he knew all too well where she was headed. He thought about asking her to wait but knew it was useless: her determined voice was unequivocal: nothing would stop her from seeing him.

She drove an hour an a half and arrived in front of the gray and quite scary facility, taking a deep breath and squeezing the wheel in her hands, making her knuckles turn white. She glanced at her face in the rear view mirror, taking in her tired eyes and exhaled a sharp breath before getting off the car. She looked at the depressing gray clouded sky, her hair streaming around her face from the insane wind that threatened to send her flying but she kept walking. Her brain was in overdrive but her thoughts just came too fast for her to process anything.

She got in and watched around: the eggshell color of the walls was supposed to be soothing but really made her nauseous, but not as much as the atmosphere: people talking to themselves and a little old guy crying on her right, ready to be discharged but begging the nurse to keep him there.

'God', she thought, 'what if House didn't want to get out of there when he's relatively cured?'

She wiped this thought from her mind, along with the worried expression on her delicate face and asked to see Gregory House.

Hearing the name, a doctor came to introduce himself, "Dr Nolan" he said, shaking her hand.

"Dr Cuddy, Dean of med..." she started. "I know who you are Dr Cuddy" he stated with a knowing yet professional smile, and asked her to follow him. She figured he knew her name by reputation.

Cuddy walked beside him and Dr Nolan opened a door, letting her go first. She stopped abruptly at the sight before her: House was kissing a blonde doctor. Not believing her eyes, she blinked, then shut her eyes hermetically. When she opened them again, the pair were still kissing before her eyes.

She was petrified for a minute and Dr Nolan, who was behind her and who had been paged just before entering the room, told her it was an emergency and that he would be back in half an hour to discuss House's treatment with her, seemingly oblivious of the scene she was witnessing, of her hurt and shocked expression.

She couldn't breathe, her brain was overwhelmed with thoughts. She was thinking, putting all the facts together: what Wilson had told her about House's delusions, House's weird behavior, shouting that he slept with her, asking her to move in with him, and before that the kiss they shared, every single clue leading her to think that he was in love with her, giving her hope, making her realize she loved him too, had loved him for more than 20 years. Then came the usual feeling of disappointment she always got from him, like that one time she had wanted to thank him for the desk and had found him flirting with a hooker in HER hospital.

Those thoughts were followed by acceptance, the idea that no matter what, he would never love her, the notion that he would never change occurred to her. She was done. All she could think next was that this blonde doctor was unprofessional: how could she kiss someone who obviously had mental issues? Cuddy had felt guilty for wanting House when he was sane (well, as sane as he could be anyway) because she was her boss. She had felt guilty even if she had known him for half her life and here she was, this blonde woman, kissing him shamelessly when she just met him and when he was a patient in a psychiatric hospital. And what about him? It had only taken him 20 years to kiss her and here he was, jumping the first woman he saw!!?

'Okay, now everything is clear: he's an emotionless ass and I'm an idiot' she thought bitterly.

She realized she was an idiot to care about him. She decided she was going to forget all that had happened and move on. All that she had said in her office about them not being able to have a personal relationship, him reaching the final straw, those words which had made her feel guilty for the past month were finally the sad truth.

When he heard the sound of the door opening, he smirked, expecting one of his doctors or a nurse. He looked up, still kissing the woman who hadn't noticed anything, and stopped dead, a shocked expression matching the one on Cuddy's face.

His face went blank, staring at her, astonished. Hers was the exact opposite of blank: every single feeling was displayed in her face, one emotion replacing the other: he could witness the surprise, hurt feelings, disappointment, betrayal, sadness, crushed hopes, resignation, her Dean of Medicine face of disapproval and finally a mask of indifference. At that sight, at that precise moment, he knew that she had given up on him. He witnessed her trying to decide how to react, whether to leave or stay, both sides of Cuddy fighting, the hurt woman wanting to escape and the administrator that needed to stay to be updated on his medical situation.

The Dean and administrator won, as usual. She finally mumbled a vague "excuse me, I just wanted your authorization to look at your medical file".

He looked at her and without even realizing it, he whimpered an uncertain "huh, sure..."

With that, she gave him and the woman a cold nod and left the room, trying to keep her composure and succeeding. Her administrator mask was on and was there to stay.

A split second after she got out, he rushed after her, leaving the blonde confused behind him. He ran after her as fast as the throbbing pain in his thigh allowed him to and looked around. He finally noticed a movement near his psychiatrist's office and limped towards it as quickly as he could. He caught her by the wrist just before she could get in Nolan's office and made her turn to face him.

"Damn' you're fast, even in those high-heeled stilettos of yours..." he said, staring at her, trying to read her, not knowing exactly what to say.

He didn't know how to deal with her so he unconsciously decided that the safest route was being an ass.

"Still got my mojo, little Greg is happy wherever it goes".

He was waiting for her to react, to get upset, to roll her eyes, something... anything.

She shrugged, delicately freed her wrist from his grasp and said distractedly, ignoring his rude comment "what pain medication are you taking right now? What dosage?"

He furrowed his eyebrows, not at all satisfied, bothered by her total indifference. She acted as if he wasn't even there.

"Heroin, a hundred milligrams" he deadpanned.

She shrugged again and said "it doesn't matter, I'll ask your doctor anyway. See ya" She then entered the office and slowly shutting the door, leaving him dumbfounded.

She had resisted the urge of slapping his head off and slamming the door in his face. She sat down and avoiding to look at the same doctor that led her to her horrifying discovery, she asked him for House's medical file.

Dr Nolan looked intently at her, and said calmly "so, you're doctor Cuddy, _**House's**_ Cuddy, right?"

She looked at Nolan, surprised. So House had mentioned her? As the "_she-devil_" she was sure...

"I'm not **HOUSE'S** anything but his boss".

He had a knowing expression, got up and stood right in front of her.

"He's scared of what you mean to him, he's trying to distance himself from you, it actually helps his recovery... at least for now" he said, searching for her reaction. He continued "don't you think I would have put a stop to that kiss immediately if I didn't think it would be therapeutic somehow? I'm not used to allow this kind of behavior in my hospital".

Cuddy was first surprised: 'so he did see House and the woman she came to name 'Dr Hooker' in her head kissing...' she thought.

Then she nodded and finally looked at him in the eyes "I don't agree but it's not my place to criticize, is it?" she said, a tired expression dulling the shine he had seen in her eyes when they first met in the lobby, when she was apprehensive but happy to see House.

"Look, it doesn't mean anything to him, I mean he doesn't feel anything for her, he told me so at our session yesterday when I mentioned that any doctor/patient fraternization was forbidden, especially in his state" he said reassuringly.

"What it means is irrelevant, it's not very professional but as I said, it's not my place" she lectured nevertheless. "Look, I just want the details about his therapy and the treatment he's currently receiving so that I know what to say to the board when they ask me if he can get his job back and when". Cuddy said tiredly.

He sighed, getting the information she wanted in the top drawer of his desk and handing her a thick file.

"There it is, Dr Cuddy. And if I may, Dr Wilson was right: you're as stubborn as he is" he said, annoyed.

"Funny, I was just thinking that you reminded me of him...", her tone implying that it was not a compliment. The last thing she needed was to deal with another matchmaker...

"Thank you for the useful information" she said sarcastically, "let me know if there are any changes I need to know about. Nice to meet you, Dr Nolan" she finally said more warmly.

He looked at her, impressed at her calm demeanor, her detached professionalism and shook her hand "goodbye Dr Cuddy" and added, with a slight hesitation "will you visit House soon?" he asked, raising one eyebrow questioningly.

"I don't think so, I have all the information I needed" she said bitterly and with that, she got up to leave the office. He watched her walk out and turned to the window, wondering why House hadn't told this amazing woman what he felt for her. "He really must be crazy" he sighed.

When she opened the door, she bumped into House who had been listening to the whole conversation, his body pressed against the door. He grabbed her shoulder to keep his balance given that he had forgotten his cane, leaving it behind him when he ran after her. Her entire body shivered against his and he noticed that her discomfort matched his own. It made her think that the last time he had grabbed her shoulder like that, it had been for emotional support, when he first discovered that he was suffering from delusions.

He slid his hands slowly from her shoulders to her arms and his hands ended up on her hips in a tender motion. He stared at her gray stormy eyes with his piercing blue orbs and all he saw was exhaustion and hidden disappointment. She wasn't even mad. Usually it was her anger that turned him on, but since his delusion, whenever he saw her, his heart raced and he found himself craving for her.

She looked up at him for a split second before regaining her composure and leaving him burning with desire.

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**TBC – If you think it's worth updating anyway... Oh, and I'm French, so if my English sucks or if I made any mistakes, please tell me so.**


	2. Rationalization man vs Rational man

**Hey guys, I wanted to thank the few people who read my story, and especially the even fewer who left encouraging reviews: it's always nice to get your input on what you think or what you're waiting for. **

******Since there are only like eight of you people, I can afford a minute to thank you each personally ;)**

**So thanks to Palikara, Ant1984, PMCM18 (I'll explore Potente's character in my third chapter, I promise), Andree Campbell, Alison in Oz, Shipper1013, Ratka and Lenasti16. You guys rock !!!**

**Anyhoo, the following chapter takes place immediately after the previous one. **

**Oh, I almost forgot: I _still_ don't own House... like it's _not_ obvious when reading my story...**

**Okay then, here we go...**

Chapter 2 – Rationalization man vs "Rational" man

House watched Cuddy walk away, not even checking her ass. That's how upset he was...

He burst in Dr Nolan's office, quite mad at what had just happened.

"What the hell, Nolan??! Why didn't you give me the heads up? What is it with you people barging in one's room without knocking, bringing visit without a warning?" yelled House, getting more and more angry at the therapist's nonchalance.

"Why are you so upset?" Nolan asked calmly, the shadow of a smile lingering on his lips. He was interested in House's reaction to Cuddy's short visit.

"First off, House, you blaming me for not knocking is hysterical. Second: sorry but I told you it was against hospital policy for patients to make out with the staff, so I assumed you would respect what I told you yesterday" he said innocently. "You made your bed, now lie in it... ALONE!" he said with a fake annoyed expression, but deep down he was glad that House seemed to be worked up over his feelings towards Cuddy: maybe he would do something about it...

"If you feel guilty, just call her, House, I'm not the one you should be talking to right now" Nolan concluded.

"That's very smart Doc: you did it on purpose because you knew I'd never listen. And I have nothing to explain or to feel guilty about. Cuddy's just my annoying pain-in-the-ass boss, that's all" he claimed, wanting to appear nonchalant but obviously agitated.

"So, what's up with your outburst?" Nolan looked at House questioningly, intrigued by House demeanor but not fooled by his apparent indifference.

"I told you: I'm pissed because I hate to be surprised, and I want to be prepared whenever Cuddy -or anyone else for that matter- comes to visit.

"Okay, fair enough, I should have told you you had a visitor... Then again, you don't have to worry about Cuddy anymore: she said she won't be visiting anytime soon, so you can calm down. After all, you don't care" Nolan said as he got back to his files, apparently done with the conversation.

"It's a matter of principle" he said unconvincingly.

House was firmly decided to stay until he had Nolan's undivided intention, not willing to let him work and making it quite clear by tapping his cane on the floor.

Nolan finally looked up and stared at House "Funny how I usually have to hunt you down to make you attend your sessions, and now you won't get out of my office" he said with a smirk. "She must be more important than I thought".

Sensing he was being probed and tested by Nolan, House got out of his office, fuming and frustrated.

The first thing he did was call Wilson to yell at him: he urgently needed to vent and Nolan was being insufferably provocative. Normally when he was in that mood, he went to Cuddy's office for some bickering but he couldn't call her. She was the last person he wanted to talk to at the moment, and she obviously wouldn't pick up the phone anyway.

After two rings, as soon as Wilson picked up the phone, House lashed at him: "why the hell didn't you tell me that Cuddy was coming today? House yelled.

"Why, hello to you too, House" Wilson replied, not in the least flummoxed. "Why are you yelling? What happened?" he asked.

"She came and, well..."he began, interrupting himself. "Forget it, you should have warned me" his anger was so irrational that Wilson was going to pick on him if he told him why he was upset. He didn't even know why he was so mad. If he told him how conflicted he was, he would never hear the end of it.

"Well... what?" "Okay, I should have told you she was coming, but what happened?" Wilson insisted, knowing something important was up. He realized that this phone call had been all but planned, House was being emotional... It was getting interesting. Wilson was intrigued. "Did she catch you in your underwear? He teased, voluntarily annoying the diagnostician.

"She caught me making out with a doctor here" he admitted, emotionless.

"Wooa wh-what?" Wilson stuttered. "Wait a minute, who is this woman and why the hell were you making out with her?" he was stunned.

"What do you think? She's hot, that's why! I'm bored here, I can't call a hooker since our calls and visits are checked" he quipped.

"And Cuddy... saw that? What about her???" he asked in a judgmental tone that got on House's nerves.

"You're such a girl Wilson" he spat obnoxiously, aggravated.

"You're an idiot!" the oncologist spat angrily. "How did she react?"

"Hey, we've been through this: bros before hoes, Jimmy,..."

"Yeah, except the hoe is also a bro. And you have feelings for her" Wilson said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"...and you should talk: I'm not married to Cuddy, and we're not getting a divorce, you serial cheater" House continued as if Wilson hadn't said anything.

"You can deflect all you want, but why does it bother you so much that she saw you? You don't care, right?" he said, and House could almost hear his victorious smirk on the phone.

"God, you're annoying" House said, hanging up on Wilson without warning, even more frustrated and confused than after his talk with Dr Nolan.

House got back to his room, sat on his bed and stared pensively at the wall, swirling his cane absentmindedly.

Meanwhile, Cuddy was driving in the now stormy weather. Her mood matched the thundering mess outside. Her brain was harassed with images of House kissing the blonde and she was obsessed by the warmth of his hands on her hips. "Bastard" she hissed and gritted her teeth.

'God, get over him, get a grip, it's actually a good thing: you have Rachel now, you can't have a relationship with House, it's like playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun. The only outcome is a broken heart and humiliation' she said to herself, trying her best not to cry.

The day went by and House stayed in his room, still in the same spot on his bed, thinking and brooding over what happened. He kept thinking over and over again of her face and what Nolan had said "she's not visiting anytime soon". It was like a mantra, tormenting his mind, making his chest tighten.

It was time for dinner and he still hadn't moved when he heard a soft knock on the door. He didn't answer, hoping that whoever that was would take the hint and go suck an egg somewhere else.

There was a second knock and, exasperated, House said loud enough for the intruder to hear "oh, now we're knocking, are we? Go away!"

The door opened and the blonde doctor entered the room. He looked up at her and said in a noncommittal tone: "Lydia... to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"I... there's a phone call for you. And I'd like to talk to you after. Then I will take you to the cafeteria to grab something to eat: it's almost diner time, and Dr Nolan said that if you didn't eat, you would not be allowed to get out of your room until tomorrow at breakfast time. Your choice" she said, looking intently at him.

"Okay, whatever" he grumbled, now staring at his cane. He got on his feet and leaning heavily on his cane, he limped in the hallway to get to the phone hanging on the wall.

"This better be good" he groused, annoyed, wondering who that might be.

"Hello to you too" Wilson replied, falsely cheerful. "You hung up on me earlier so I thought I would let you calm down before calling back" he said seriously.

"What do you want? I don't need another lecture from a professional philanderer" he said snidely.

"Look, I'm not calling to criticize, if you don't care about Cuddy, so be it" "So... how is she? I mean the mysterious woman? I want details"

House knew that Wilson had an ulterior motive. 'That should be interesting' House thought.

"So you called to gossip? Cuddy doesn't matter anymore? You're okay with that?" he asked Wilson, waiting for him to show his hand. It was a poker game, and he wanted to make him fold. "I don't buy it" he added suspiciously.

"Well, I must admit I'm pretty curious. I didn't say I was okay with that, I don't even know what _**that**_ is. Whatever it is, I'm your friend. So... Is she a patient? He asked, half expecting House to mock him or deflect.

"She 's a doctor" House said. He wanted to torture Wilson and mess with him but he still had to figure all this out. He was confused, and he needed Wilson's input on whatever was happening.

"Are you kidding me? My God, you found a fellow doctor oblivious of any kind of ethics. A match in heaven! Do you people think reading the Hippocratic Oath was optional in med school???" The oncologist admonished, sounding shocked.

"You slept with a patient, we cannot possibly be having this conversation..." House countered.

"Is this about me?" he replied, annoyed. "Okay, fine" he sighed, defeated. "Go on"

"I decided to stage a mutiny, to stir things up around here" he said with his typical conspiracy voice, the one he usually used when plotting against Cuddy. This was not lost on either of them.

"And the means to annoy Dr Nolan is to make out with a doctor?" Wilson asked incredulously.

"Yeah that's pretty much it. Except I didn't just make out with her..." he said innocently

"YOU SLEPT WITH HER??? Saying that Wilson was dumbfounded was a mild euphemism, his jaw hit the carpet.

"Yup" house quipped, trying to sound cocky but Wilson could tell he was not really into it.

"House, do you like her?" Wilson finally asked after processing for a moment.

"Well, she has great yabbos" House bragged.

"That's not who I'm referring to" Wilson was losing patience.

"You're such a buzz-kill Wilson... Cuddy and I, it's never gonna happen, okay? She's my boss... well, assuming she's not gonna fire my delusional ass..." he sighed. "Actually, technically, she did fire me".

"Yeah, it's not gonna happen, not anymore... And that's exactly what you wanted" he thought aloud, disappointedly. "But you know you're not fired, House, don't be ridiculous"

"Wilson, have you talked to her since she was here? He raised his brows suspiciously.

"No" Wilson lied.

"You're lying" House observed.

Lydia came behind House and said "time's up, stud, and we need to talk".

Hearing that, Wilson told House he'd call the day after and hang up. 'Great timing' he thought, relieved.

The blonde asked House to follow her and ignored the lecherous comment he made about her intentions as they walked back to his room.

'This is going to be a long evening' House thought. He didn't want to confront the woman about who Cuddy was, he didn't want to think about Cuddy, about what he had read in her eyes when she saw him and the woman who currently was standing in front of him. All he wanted at that moment was to be alone and not to think about anything. The blonde didn't appear to be on the same page, she was standing in his room, watching him, visibly preparing herself for the conversation. She was so transparent... It made House think that he missed Cuddy's poker face. Lydia was so predictable... Or was she?

**TBC - Thanks for reading :) Reviews are always nice. I'll take corrections as well, I had a hard time with this one: I'm almost fluent, but almost's not good enough: I'm not sure about some expressions I used. Gosh, writing in a foreign language is tough... **


	3. Splitting HeadEx

**Hey readers, it was brought to my attention that the blonde woman we see making out with House in the preview is **_**not**_ **a doctor but a patient's sister-in-law. I decided to make her a doctor at Mayfield Psychiatric hospital in my story despite the fact that she's not in the show. I think it gives the arc an ethical aspect that adds something interesting. Wilson once told House that their friendship was based on ethics, **_**and so is the show in my opinion**_**. The relationships between Cuddy & House and House & Wilson are all about morals and ethics, well, at least that's the way I see it. Cuddy would be House's professional conscience and Wilson his personal conscience. I wanna explore this aspect in my plot and use Lydia's character to do so. Hope you'll be fine with her being a doctor and not some random chick...**

**Hope you'll like where the story is going, if not, I'll start another one, you tell me...**

Chapter 3 – Splitting HeadEx

House was not looking forward to talking to Lydia, but he was trapped...

Lydia took a deep breath and looked at him straight in the eyes, opened her mouth to speak but just stood there, looking at him, a strange expression marking her features.

House couldn't take it any longer, he wanted to get this over with. He wanted to get some sleep, assuming he would be able to sleep with all the thoughts that threatened to make his head implode.

"You wanted to chat? Is there anything specific you would like to talk about or shall we jump into bed right now?" he snickered, wiggling his eyebrows. Being obnoxious was an art he mastered. He was a certified diagnostician with a triple specialty in nephrology, infectious diseases and jerkiness. This particular talent always helped him deflect or just push people over the edge.

She stared at him, looking outraged, and started in a high pitched voice "I just wanted to say goodbye. I'm being transferred to another department. Apparently, you told Nolan that we've been sleeping together and unsurprisingly, he wasn't happy about it. I don't blame him, but I wish you had kept this information to yourself" she was visibly trying not to lose her temper but she was angry.

House looked surprised for a second: he thought she wanted to know about the woman she saw earlier, but he quickly recovered and went back to his annoying argumentative self.

"So what? You should be happy: he didn't fire you. He should have: sleeping with a patient, especially in this kind of institution, makes you a liability, an ethically questionable person, and a crappy doctor" he admonished, shaking his head in a falsely judgmental way.

She looked like she was about to faint at such shamelessness. It was funny to watch people who were not used to his ways react with shock. Cuddy would have come up with some witty quip, mocked him, cut him down to size, and Wilson would have ignored him or turned the argument against him. Lydia, on the other hand, was absolutely out of words, and all she was able to do was stutter "y-you've got some nerve!"

"Look, I told him what happened in confidence, as a patient, and legally he can't take any actions against you, his hands are tied, okay? So calm down, I'll talk to him, make him keep you in this building... after all I don't wanna lose my free access to sex..." he said with a smug look and a shit-eating grin.

"Like it's ever gonna happen again" she was mad now "and what about this woman that walked on us earlier?" she asked, annoyed.

'Here we go...' he thought. He looked deep in her eyes, a knowing smile on his lips "Oh, you want it to happen again". It was not a question, he knew that look... "Well, I'm gonna talk to Nolan right now" he said, completely ignoring her question about Cuddy's visit.

"Dr Nolan's gone for the night: it's dinner time. We can proceed with our conversation at the cafeteria" she said more calmly, which intrigued him. He had been voluntarily insufferable but she still wanted to talk. What could he do to make women leave him alone? The more obnoxious he was the more they wanted to talk.

"Look: right now I just wanna sleep. I'll go talk to Nolan first thing tomorrow morning. You know where the door is" he said, bored with the conversation and not trying to hide it.

"God, you're an ass" she spat, preparing to leave.

"Heard that one before, yeah... just before I had some action... But sorry, tonight, I'm not in the mood" he announced.

"I was not offering" she said and left without another word.

He stood there, looking at the ceiling, rubbed his tired face with his left hand and sat down on the edge of his bed, throwing his cane away, thinking of the recent events.

In the morning he was going to yell at Nolan, call Wilson and try not to think about Cuddy, Cuddy's tears when she confronted him after he had yelled that he had slept with her, Cuddy's lassitude when he came to ask her about her lipstick, Cuddy's worried and caring expression when he had his mental breakdown in frony of her in her office. And the latest memory of her: the shock and pain she tried to hide when she saw him with Lydia...

He had been hurting that woman over and over again when all she had done was protect him, give him a job and worry about him. He had to stay away from her, he couldn't help making her miserable. He just couldn't help it. His thoughts took an unsettling path: his delusions, the pain he now had to face without the help of opiates...

God, when had his life turned into that mess? Well, to be honest, when has his life been anything but a mess? He had to admit that his destructive ways had begun long before the infarction. He always had been miserable. His leg, his pain, had made it worse but he always purposely alienated people around him, he had gotten fired from Hopkins, from his jobs, until Cuddy had hired him... Cuddy: everything led to her. He suddenly wanted to stop thinking, he wanted scotch, his piano, Vicodine. He wanted out. No pain...

Without realizing it, he fell asleep, a dreamless slumber taking over him, one that his body craved, anesthetizing his mind.

House headed to Dr Nolan's office, a rebellious expression on his face. He was ready to make his psychiatrist wanna seek one for himself...

He entered the office without knocking, and got straight to the point, accusingly "why did you tell Lydia she was going to be transferred? I told you what happened because I trusted you and I thought it was relevant to my recovery" he argued, indignant.

"First, I could have been with a patient so I would appreciate if you knocked next time. Second, it's a load of crap: you did it in the first place as an act of revolt and you told me you made out with her so that I could get rid of her for you. You didn't 'confess' to be honest. And now you're mad because I didn't fire her and I could figure out you were lying. She showed poor judgment as far as you were concerned but she's a good doctor. But I'm not kidding House: if it happens again, with her or somebody else, I'll put you in confinement until your release. Just try me" he said calmly, but House could tell Nolan was as serious as a heart attack.

"Look" Nolan continued "it's quite simple: you're confronted with the same problem as I am, except it's worse for me: when people lie to you, it delays the diagnosis, makes your job, your life, harder than it has to be when all your efforts are for the patient, so basically it makes you say -with reason- that the patient is a moron who's acting against his own interests" he explained, trying to appeal to House's logic.

House remained silent and Nolan kept talking.

"But, at least House, you can rely on tests to confirm -or infirm- what your patient tells you, whether your patient has been taking drugs or alcohol, or whatever. I, on the other hand, can only rely on what _you_ tell me, because let's face it: psychology is less 'black and white' than physiological medicine, there is no concrete proof of the information I get. So if you don't want to tell me something, okay, but don't you ever lie to me: it defeats the whole purpose of you being here. Remember that your goal is to get your medical license back. And that's up to me. For you to practice again, you have to get better, you have to be able to rely on your own judgment, and to do so, you have to address your issues". "Furthermore, I'd like you to take my job and your mental health seriously: don't refer to this place as «loony bin» or «cuckoo nest»: it's a psychiatric institution, you're not a child or an idiot: then stop acting like one." he admonished.

"And finally, you have to detox but also find some stability: you being promiscuous isn't helping making you more balanced" he said looking at his cold blue eyes and, satisfied, he broke their stare contest.

House knew Nolan was right, he knew how angry he was when a patient made his job impossible by lying, making him search for a diagnosis based on false assumptions... When it happened, it was annoying and it made him obsess. It was like starting a puzzle with missing pieces. He couldn't help but feel sympathetic, but he had a hard time talking about personal issues without deflecting. It was like a knee-jerk reaction: whenever he was confronted to his feelings, he had to either joke, leave and hide or lie.

Nolan then got back to his paperwork and House took the hint and left his office, and heard Nolan say "don't forget we have an appointment later today".

Once outside, in the hallway, House called Wilson, his mind was harassed with thoughts of Cuddy. He's always been an obsessive person, it was what made him the great doctor he was. But this Cuddy thing was starting to become a problem: he thought about her when he was awake, he dreamt about her when he was asleep, she was always in his head. He couldn't focus, it was like he had no say in it. He had to face it: he had a bug for her and that wouldn't change unless he did something about it.

He picked up the phone hanging on the offensive eggshell wall and dialed his best friend's number. Wilson answered after two rings and said, in a weird elusive tone:

"What is it House? I don't have much time, I have a consult in five minutes so please get straight to the point" he said impatiently.

House was intrigued: he could sense something was up. "Okay, what aren't you telling me?" he inquired, puzzled.

"Nothing, I'm just swamped, lots of dying people, it must be cancer week or something..." he tiredly said, sounding jaded.

"Is that so? I spoke with you yesterday evening and things seemed quite normal -well, for you at least... You're telling me that's it's Monday, not even noon yet and you had more than two patients in the morning?" He said suspiciously. "I'm so not buying it" he added disappointed "you usually are a better liar".

"Okay whatever, I don't have time for this. House, what did you call for?" Wilson sighed.

"To know why you are lying to me" he replied simply.

"You're giving me a headache. To what lie are you referring to?"

"Oh, there are more than one?" he asked

"Aren't we smart... House please go talk to your therapist, go have sex with your blonde Hippocrates there and let me get back to work" Wilson sounded agitated.

"You're aggressive" he stated, "if you don't tell me what's going on I'm gonna check out of rehab and come back today. It's your call" he announced, dead serious.

"House... could you please drop it and get off my back?" Wilson sighed heavily, depressed.

"I mean it Wilson. What's up?" House had the same feeling he had when working on a case.

"It's about Cuddy: she didn't come back yesterday. I talked to her very briefly when she was driving on her way back from Mayfield after she saw you. She told me she saw you for five minutes, said you were '_quite at ease'_ -her words- and got your medical file from Nolan".

He went on, not trying to conceal his worry anymore.

"She was driving when she called me to inform me that she was coming to get Rachel back at 2pm yesterday and I've had no news since the phone call. I left her a thousand messages. She didn't even come to work this morning so I had to bring the baby to the hospital with me, and you know Mondays are busy days... I don't care if I have to juggle between babysitting and my patients but I'm worried sick about Cuddy: it's not like her at all to miss work, leave Rachel and all this without calling... and the weather was blusterous and rainy. I called every hospital in the area, the police, I don't know what to do House" his anguish was obvious. It reminded him of Amber, he had a bad feeling about this...

House didn't know what to think, he was getting angry. He couldn't do anything and that frustrated him to no end, so he did what he usually does: he snapped: "why in the hell would you keep that from me??? Are you totally out of your mind???" he roared. "How could you?"

"Like you knowing was gonna make a difference... what are you gonna do? Go AWOL?" Wilson spat.

"Yeah I gotta duck out, and you're gonna check me out of here, sign me out NOW" House barked, hearing Rachel beginning to fuss.

"I'm not gonna drive an hour and a half with the baby, leaving the hospital, to get you out so that you can drive me crazy, House. You don't have the faintest idea where she can be and you're the reason she's gone MIA in the first place" he grunted, more furious than House has seen Wilson since his father's funeral when the oncologist had thrown the bottle through the window.

House was too shocked to even come with a reply, and that didn't matter since Wilson had already hung up on him.

So much for the 'not thinking about Cuddy' resolution... Now House was pacing in the hallway, thinking of all the possible scenarios and suddenly felt queasy. He rushed to his bathroom and let his nausea take over him.

After what seemed like hours, he brushed his teeth, trying not to think about his mind-splitting headache and went out of the bathroom to find Lydia staring at him, worried. He looked at her and wasn't even in the mood to be rude.

"Lydia, I don't wanna talk right now, okay? Just go" he sounded exhausted.

"You were supposed to have an appointment with Dr Nolan ten minutes ago, when I went to talk to him he was pissed at you, you should go".

So it had been hours after all...

House considered telling her to go to hell but he had to talk to Nolan, he was the last person who had talked to Cuddy, maybe he missed something when he was eavesdropping on their conversation in Nolan's office, who knows? Maybe the psychiatrist knew where cuddy was... He nodded and told Lydia he was going to see Nolan.

Oblivious of the whole situation, she touched his arm and whispered gently "thanks for talking to Dr Nolan and convincing him to keep me here. I don't know what you told him but I wanted to..."

"Yeah yeah, whatever, as I said: you being here comes with perks" and with that, he left, heading to his therapy session.

**TBC – Okay, coming next, we'll discover what happened to Cuddy (a car accident is tempting... hmmm... I don't know, I hate clichés... I guess you have to review this one, give me your opinion, and read the next chapter to find out what my devious mind came up with...). Oh, and I might include the teamZ. Until then, enjoy the premiere tomorrow... AT LAST!!!**


	4. Missing

**Okay people, here's chapter 4... I deleted the one I posted last week so this is brand new. Hope you'll like it better!**

**I'm gonna change the structure a little: in the first 3 chapters I was very descriptive, now I use more dialogues... **

**Any input on that? By the way, I'm very comfortable with criticism and corrections, that's how we get better right? So bring it on ;)**

Chapter 4 – Missing

It was Monday evening and House was distraught. Dr Nolan had managed to make him talk but House didn't learn anything from the psychiatrist as Cuddy was concerned. He had tried to call Wilson again but the oncologist didn't answer the phone, and House got his voice mail every time he tried.

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Meanwhile, Wilson had had a horrible day, trying to put his fear that something had happened to Cuddy aside, both looking after Rachel and seeing patients. That day at the hospital had been weird for everyone: House not causing trouble and limping around, annoying the hell out of their boss for the past month had made the workplace quiet enough, but on that particular Monday, Wilson had been like a shadow and Cuddy had been nowhere to be seen. Things were quiet, and unsettling. The team had no case, so they had all the free time in the world to speculate on the reasons for Cuddy's absence.

At 5pm, Wilson took Rachel, holding her tight in an attempt to soothe her and himself and got out of the hospital. He finally arrived home and was in front of his porch, fiddling with his apartment keys both because he was nervous and because he knew Rachel loved that clinking sound.

Once Rachel fell asleep in her crib, Wilson got agitated, browsing frenetically his papers, going through his drawers. After twenty minutes spent looking everywhere, his house was upside down, in a post hurricane or police house search kind of way, files covering the floor, the ungodly mess matching his state of mind. Wilson was confused, worried sick, so he focused on his mission, on what he was desperately looking for. When he finally found the little piece of paper with a phone number on it, he exhaled a relieved sigh, took his phone and started dialing.

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"Huh... hi... it's huh... Wilson, you know, House's friend..." he said hesitantly and nervously.

"Yeah, I know who you are, I remember. What's up?" the man replied, sounding friendly yet surprised.

"I need a favor" he began, his voice regaining a little confidence.

'This should be interesting' Lucas thought.

"Huh... I don't mean a favor per se". He took a deep breath and said, more firmly "I'll pay, but I need you to find someone, Lucas"

"Okay, who? Has Greg lost the number of that hooker he liked so much?" Lucas deadpanned and one second later, the PI laughed at his own joke.

"I need you to find Lisa Cuddy" he said in a grave tone. There was a heavy silence and then Lucas spoke again, all trace of humor vanished.

"What's going on? How long has she been missing???". His voice had immediately become serious, he sounded deeply concerned, which seemed odd to Wilson since he didn't even know Lucas and Cuddy had actually met.

"Look, she went to visit House at... I mean, she was..." he stuttered, not sure he wanted to disclose any details about House's privacy.

"Spit it out" he said seriously. Lucas was a happy-go-lucky guy, but at that moment, he was not joking.

"House is at Mayfield psychiatric hospital" Wilson replied, reluctantly.

"So I understand she went to visit him at Mayfield and never came back?" remaining impassible, the PI was analyzing the information Wilson was giving him.

"Yes, last time she called, she was driving, she was upset, and there was a storm there, I'm afraid something happened to her" he explained, his voice breaking.

"Did she take her baby with her? Maybe she went on holidays or something, or visiting her parents" he suggested.

"How did you know about Cuddy's baby? House told you?" Wilson asked.

"Can we focus here?" Lucas didn't want to tell the oncologist that he had been occasionally checking on Cuddy. He wasn't a creepy stalker, he just liked her and was very happy when she finally got what she wanted. "So, is the baby with her?" he repeated patiently.

"No, that's what worries me: she left the baby with me and she would have called if she had decided to get away. She's been missing for a day and a half, I don't know what to do" he panicked.

"Did you call the authorities, hospital in the area, the..." he began asking, interrupted by a very annoyed Wilson.

"No, I just sat on my ass, did a little praying too..." he snapped.

"Okay, sorry, I get that you're worried, but it's routine questions, I need to gather all the information I can" Lucas replied calmly.

"I know. Sorry about that, I just..."

Lucas shrugged, not really interested in anything other than Cuddy's case.

"You said she was upset, what was that about?" he inquired.

"It's not relevant, but she went to visit **House** so I wasn't that surprised that she was upset. What I'm surprised about is that you even need to ask. You spent time with the guy, right?"

"Hmm" he processed, "I thought you two were okay, you're a bit harsh on him. You think her disappearance is related to him, that's he's somehow responsible" he quietly noticed.

"No, I don't know where she is or anything, I just know that last time we spoke, I heard her sobbing, even if she tried to hide it" he revealed unwillingly.

"From what I saw, she's not an easy woman to break, he must have outdone himself..." Lucas thought aloud.

"It's not actually his fault, it's mine" Wilson revealed guiltily.

"How has it anything to do with you?" Now Lucas was really intrigued.

"That's their business, it's personal. Look, she went to Mayfield psychiatric hospital, House is in rehab there. You know everything you need to, just please find her" he pleaded.

"I'll do some research and I'm going there right away. Don't worry we'll get her back" the PI said reassuringly.

Wilson was taken aback by his dedication. He wondered if Lucas didn't have a soft spot for Cuddy by the way he sounded, he felt something was going on, but he didn't know what.

"Lucas, how well do you know Lisa? He asked, really puzzled.

"Not that well, we had lunch together at a diner once, we talked, I actually kinda stalked her" he said with a little nostalgic sigh. "I liked her" he admitted.

"Okay, so you're concerned, I'm glad actually, you'll do anything you can to find her".

"I'll keep in touch, you were right to call"

"Another detail: I don't want House involved. You don't have to talk to him, do you? I think I'm going to call him and tell him she came back and she's okay. I don't want him to check himself out of rehab, he needs it" Wilson said tiredly.

"I'm sorry but I need to know at what time she left exactly and..." Lucas tried to explain but he was interrupted by Wilson.

"You could ask Nolan, not House" the oncologist suggested.

"Who's Nolan?" the PI asked.

"My friend from college and House's psychiatrist, he's the last one who talked to Lisa, you don't have to talk to House"

"Okay, I'll do my best not to bump into House but I need to warn you: if somehow he sees me, he'll know everything because I'm not a good liar" he admitted, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Oh, we're in trouble... okay, I'm going to call House to tell him that she's home. I'll talk to you later, and please call me as soon as you learn anything, no matter what time it is, okay?" he insisted.

"Okay, don't worry, we'll find her" Lucas said, ready to hang up but quickly added "oh, wait! I need Dr Nolan's cellphone number"

At that moment, Rachel began to fuss. Lucas heard the baby crying and he smiled sadly. 'I promise we'll find your mommy sweetie' he thought, determined. After Wilson gave him the information he requested, the PI hung up and immediately called the psychiatrist.

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"Dr Nolan? I'm Lucas Douglas, private investigator, Dr Wilson gave me your number"

"I assume you're calling regarding Dr Cuddy..." Nolan responded, not at all surprised.

"Yes, I'd like to discuss your last encounter with Lisa Cuddy, do you think we could meet somewhere outside the hospital in, say, two hours?"

"Outside the hospital... I assume you don't want House to find out. And by 'you' I mean Wilson" he suggested, connecting the dots.

"Precisely, I don't need to convince you of the fact that House needs to think that Dr Cuddy is safe. If he knew, he would leave Mayfield to look for her and there's no need to make things more difficult"

"I agree. There's a diner called 'Lou's diner' ten minutes away from Mayfield: let's meet there at seven"

"Okay, great. I'm on my way, see you then" Lucas hung up, looked for the Cuddy file he had from when House asked him to look for information about her, picked his car keys and got out of his apartment.

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Wilson was in his apartment pacing up and down when he heard Rachel crying. He picked her up and rocked her gently, trying to calm her and himself. He warmed a bottle for her and fed her. Then he settled in his couch with the baby on his lap, thinking over and over of the last conversation he had with Cuddy. He didn't hear his cell until the third ring and when he answered, it was House on the phone.

"Wilson, has Cuddy come home yet?" he asked in a worried tone Wilson had never heard from House.

"Yes, she picked up the baby and went home" he lied, convincingly.

House paused for a minute and said "I tried her cell, she didn't answer"

"And that surprises you?" he said, annoyed. "What did you expect?" Now he was angry, he didn't have time for this, and he needed to hang up should anyone call about Cuddy, be it Lucas or the police.

"Why are you so mad? It doesn't make sense" House started to analyze Wilson's behavior.

"You're unbelievable, the question itself is insensitive: did I mention that I didn't sleep last night and that I had to deal with both the baby and the patients? House, I'm just tired, okay? Please just let me sleep it off, now that I don't have to look after the baby. I'll call you on Thursday to chat. In the meantime just get better all right?" he explained, trying to be convincing.

"Right. What did Cuddy say about being late? Did she talk to you...? I mean did she look mad, did she mention me?

"No, actually she came, took Rachel and told me she was tired and that we would catch up at the hospital tomorrow morning"

"That's it?" House asked, skeptical.

"That's it. Now please House, get some rest and try not to start a mutiny at the hospital. Nolan is a good doctor and he can help you. You'll be fine"

"Yeah, whatever. Goodnight Wilson"

"Night House" and with that he shut his phone and sighed deeply.

**TBC - I'm almost done with the fifth chapter. I'll update tomorrow...**


	5. Wilson's BP

**All-new chapter, people !!! ('coz I don't do partially new chapters... get it?) ;p **

**Thank you for reading, hope you'll enjoy this piece...**

Chapter 5 - Wilson's BP

Dave Blalick was driving on the empty road, going home after his shift. "Is this goddamn' rain ever gonna stop?" He fumed, annoyed and eager to get home to see his wife and kids.

The police officer's attention was caught by the totaled Prius he saw on the side of the road. He stopped abruptly, his car screeching to a halt, leaving a black mark on the asphalt and quickly got off his vehicle when he saw the injured woman inside.

He took her pulse with one hand and albeit weak, it was there. He sighed, reassured that she still had a heartbeat. He ran to his car and called an ambulance. Then he got back to the Prius, not moving the woman but looking for her purse to check her ID. "Lisa Cuddy" he read out loud.

"Okay Lisa, stay put, it won't take long, just keep breathing".

The woman moaned but didn't move or open her eyes. "She looks badly concussed" he said to himself. Ten minutes after he had called, Blalick was starting to lose patience when he heard the ambulance wailing. "It was about time" he muttered between gritted teeth. The ambulance stopped just behind the cop's car and three paramedics got out, one of them from the back of the truck, opening the doors and getting a gurney ready.

The three men started to look at the car from all angles and after they secured her neck, they managed to get the woman out and put her on the gurney.

Blalick went to his car and said to the men "see you at the hospital" and he drove off quickly.

Once at the hospital, one of the paramedics looked at the cop and asked Blalick "when did you find her?"

"I found her twenty minutes ago, and I called you guys immediately after I checked her pulse".

"Do you know how long she's been unconscious?" a nurse intervened.

"No, but judging by the cold engine of her car and the dry blood stains, I'd say she'd been there for at least eight hours". "I'm not surprised: nobody takes that road. The only thing in the area is the Mayfield psychiatric hospital. She must have been there. Her ID says she's a doc in Princeton" he said professionally.

"So, how is she?" he finally asked the nurse.

"She's being taken to surgery, she has a nasty concussion and she needs stitches. Her blood pressure is a little lower than we'd like so we'll also check on that. Thank you officer Blalick..." the nurse began.

"Sergeant" he corrected. "Do you want me to call someone?" he asked.

"No, we'll take care of that when she's out of the OR. Apparently, she's a big shot at PPTH. The surgeon recognized her. He'll make the call. You can go home, thank you" she said before rushing to another patient.

* * *

A couple of hours later

Brenda picked up the phone "Princeton Plainsboro". As she listened, her face fell. "WHAT???" She gasped, eyes open wide. "Yes, okay, I'll call Dr Wilson right away" Brenda said, worried and afraid. She was very fond of her boss. Actually, Brenda considered Lisa also as a friend. She immediately thought of her baby.

She dialed Wilson's number and told him the bad news.

* * *

Wilson hung up the phone, devastated. Rachel was soundly asleep in his arms, where she had been since he had called Lucas. His next move was to call the PI and tell him he knew where Cuddy was.

"Lucas, it's Wilson, Cuddy had a car accident. From what I heard, she's had surgery and is now in ICU" Wilson said with a voice even himself didn't recognize.

"Where?" Lucas asked in a broken voice.

"Pennsylvania General" he replied, not getting why Lucas would ask him "why? You can go home, I'll pay you for the trip" Wilson said. "Have you seen Nolan yet?"

"No, I've just arrived, he's not there yet. I'm gonna call him to tell him we don't need to meet and then I'm going to the hospital" Lucas said mechanically.

"You don't have to" said Wilson.

"I know" Lucas seemed determined.

"Okay, I'm calling Chase to ask him to babysit Rachel and I'll meet you there" Wilson said in a tone matching Lucas's.

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Wilson got Chase on the phone and asked him if he could babysit Rachel.

"Sure, Allison is working but I'll take the baby. What's up? Where is Cuddy? Why can't you babysit Rachel and why did you take care of her in the first place?" asked Chase, having a bad feeling about all this.

Wilson didn't want Cameron to call House so he thought about a plausible lie but Chase was not an idiot. "Okay, here's the deal: Cuddy had an accident, she's in the hospital but I don't want House to know about it"

Chase took the hint and said "okay, Allison is working a double shift so I may not even have to tell her I had been babysitting. Please tell me how Cuddy is doing as soon as you can"

"Yeah, thanks. Could you pick up Rachel in fifteen minutes?" Wilson asked

"Sure" Chase said, and he already was out of the apartment by the time he shut his cell phone"

* * *

Sunday at 3pm

Cuddy was driving in this deserted country road. The wind was incredibly strong and the rain obliterated her vision. She was mad at herself because she had just talked to Wilson who had noticed that she was crying. 'Pathetic' she hissed, tears still streaming down her cheeks, making her visibility even more compromised. She suddenly felt her car slipping and she did what she never should have done, what she knew was the worst thing to do: she panicked and slammed on the brakes, losing control of her Prius. The vehicle left the road and somersaulted twice before crashing on the right side of the road. Cuddy was knocked unconscious when she violently banged her head into the steering wheel with a loud thud.

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House had been thinking about Wilson's demeanor and his voice and he had a bad feeling. He knew his friend pretty well and he only had heard that tone when he had known about Amber's accident.

He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he could feel something was off.

He called Wilson. He only got his voice mail and he tried again. He left a short "call-me-back-you-idiot" message and hung up, annoyed.

After twelve attempts, Wilson finally answered House's call.

"WHAT????" Wilson was driving well above the speed limit and tried to focus on the road instead of picturing Cuddy hurt, alone in a hospital bed. He didn't have time fort House's antics or even for explanations he was not willing to give his friend.

"Wow, what's crawling up your ass? Is this that time of the month?" he deadpanned.

"House, I don't have time for this, I was sleeping" he lied.

"Oh yeah, poor doctor is exhausted. He spent countless sleepless nights with me, had pulled 36 hour shifts but he cannot handle a baby?" he asked sarcastically "I know she's the devil's spawn, but she can't be _that _bad" he said in his Sherlock Holmes suspicious voice.

Wilson didn't respond so he went on "I may have had delusions, you may think I'm crazy but I'm not a moron, so..." he stopped when he heard a toot "Are you driving???? I thought you were sleeping?" he asked, getting riled up.

"Where are you?" House asked.

Wilson was cornered, he didn't have a choice: either he told him what was going on, or he could deflect, but now House was hooked, he wouldn't let go.

"Okay, you want to know? I don't want to talk to you right now, I'm going to see if Cuddy's still alive!" he said angrily. "I'm hanging up now"

"Don't you dare, Wilson, where is she? Wh... What happened? Is she okay? He only felt that terrorized when he had found out about his delusions.

"What do you think???" Wilson yelled, making House's eardrum tingle. "Is anybody that is even remotely close to you ever Okay????" Wilson was irrationally mad.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" 'This is my fault, right? What happened to Amber was my fault and Cuddy's accident is my fault too?"

Wilson suddenly felt tired, he didn't want to argue with House, he just wanted to see Cuddy, see if one of his best friends was going to make it. He couldn't deal with loss again.

"House, I'm not saying it's your fault but when she had her accident, she was crying while driving... because of you. She lost control of her car" he sighed.

"Yeah, the storm and the icy rain have nothing to do with why she lost control of her vehicle... which is ironic for such a control freak" he deflected harshly.

"Very nice House! Let's focus on her and how to help"

"Why are you so concerned? You're hurting. You're an oncologist, you're used to bad news, but now you look suicidal... Last time I saw you in that state was when..."

"HOUSE!!! Don't go there..." Wilson's voice had a threatening edge to it.

"Do you have feelings for Cuddy?" House asked provocatively.

"She's my friend. Since you went away, she's been there for me. I would react this way if that were you. Do I have romantic feelings for you? Trust me on that one: I don't. Did you have romantic feelings for Kutner? Stop deflecting and stop analyzing my normal human response to tragic events to make them insignificant." Wilson was trying very hard to stay calm.

House remained silent and after a moment, he spat angrily:

"You wanna talk about whose fault it is? How about you? You didn't tell me she was coming"

"Oh yeah, go there, just blame it on me". He huffed, getting riled up again, "If I told you she was coming you wouldn't have kissed this woman in front of her. Is that what you're implying? It wouldn't have made the slightest difference, House, you probably would have just done it to annoy her, because that's what you do" the endless conversation was draining him emotionally and he was still driving very fast.

"Friends warn their friends." House said.

"What about her? She is my friend too, maybe _she_ needed to be warned, maybe she should stop waiting for you and go on with her life"

"Years to play matchmaker and now you've changed your mind?" he deflected.

"You're unbelievable! You really don't give a damn about her, do you? I kept denying it when she said you didn't care, I told her you did but didn't know how to express it, but you truly couldn't care less about what happens to her" he yelled, angry.

"You're driving Wilson, watch the road, God forbid you have an accident, it would be my fault too" he said flippantly.

"You're an ass House!" he huffed, sick and tired of the conversation. "Just stay please away from her" he finished, shutting his phone, leaving House frustrated and angry as hell.

'Yeah, like that's gonna happen...' House thought, gathering his things. 'I'm out of here' he said out loud, his intense blue eyes determined and focused.

Alvie was asleep, and House was about to get out of his room when he saw Lydia coming towards him. She looked at his backpack and asked incredulously "where do you think you are going???"

'Great, just what I needed right now' House thought, already annoyed.

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Meanwhile, Lucas arrived at Pennsylvania General and instead of going to the reception desk, he headed directly to the Intensive Care Unit. He fought the urge of running, he knew that if he managed to remain calm, nobody would notice him. He was very... unnoticeable. He walked and peeked in the ICU, looking at several beds before finally finding her. She had a large bandage around her head, a frightening bruise on the temple that extended to her forehead and her lip was split open and swollen. She also had a black eye and her left arm was in a cast. She was still unconscious and he was worried: her head injury looked serious, but then again, how would he know? He looked for her chart at the foot of the bed and found it. He began to read the details of her condition. "Increased ICP" he read. He started dialing Wilson's number when he suddenly saw Cuddy open her eyes slowly.

"Oh thank God" Lucas said, relieved. He took her hand and whispered in her ear "it's okay now, everything is gonna be okay" and he very gently kissed her forehead.

Cuddy tried to mumble something but Lucas softly asked her not to speak or move.

"You must be worried about your baby. Don't be, she's fine, she was with Wilson, and now, Wilson is coming to see you and he asked Dr Chase to look after your daughter" he said reassuringly. "You need to rest"

Hearing that Wilson was coming and that Rachel was safe, she allowed herself to relax and finally shut her eyes and got back to her morphine-induced slumber.

**TBC – Next chapter will focus on Cuddy, her condition and her visitors reactions -Lucas and Wilson among others... And it's gonna take time, but it will eventually be House/Cuddy centric. I'll try and update very soon.**


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